Display package and carton therefor



.J. B. SCOTT DISPLAY PACKAGE AND CARTON THEREFOR Aug. 19, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 18, 1968 INVENTOR JERRY B. SCOTT ATTORNEY J. B..$COTT DISPLAY PACKAGE AND CARTON THEREFOR Aug. 19,1969

I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 18, 1968 INVENTOR JERRY B. SCOTT ATTORNEY Aug. v19, 1969 f J SCOTT "3,462,006 DISPLAY PACKAGE AND CARTON THEREFOR I Filed June 18, less I s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR JERRY B. SCOTT M wnu ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,462,006 DISPLAY PACKAGE AND CARTON THEREFOR Jerry Bernard Scott, Berwyn, Ill., assignor to U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers Inc., Hamilton, Ohio, a corporation of New York Filed June 18, 1968, Ser. No. 737,975 Int. Cl. B65d /50 U.S. Cl. 206-4514 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display package having a carton that is capable of being made from one piece of foldable materials such as paperboard. The carton has a slot along its bottom through which goods can depend from within the carton and through the slot. The carton has a tapering cross section that converges towards the slot and retaining means that are supported on each side of the slot and extend u into the carton to oppose the removal of goods through the slot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a display package and carton therefor, the latter permitting the goods to extend from within the carton through a slot to outside of the carton and which provides means to oppose the removal of goods accidentally or intentionally through the slot.

The marketing of certain goods such as baby clothes, socks, and similar soft goods presents a peculiar problem in that customers quite often want to handle and feel the goods to assure that they are of appropriate softness, texture and otherwise have properties rendering them suitable for the use intended by the purchaser. For convenience in description and Without limiting the invention thereto, the present invention will be described with reference to a baby pants display carton which permits a portion of the pants to extend from within the carton to a point outside the carton whereby the customer may examine the goods without having to break the package.

Characteristic of the goods involved here is that they are soft, resilient, and often sold in multiple groups, i.e., three baby pants in a package or the like. The resilient properties of these goods are taken advantage of in the instant package, whereby they are compressed at the slot where they leave the confines of the package and also are engaged by a retaining means that tends to oppose the removal of the goods from the package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a display package and a carton as parts thereof that is capable of being made from a one-piece blank of foldable material such as paperboard. The blank when erected into a carton forms a structure having a slot along the bottom of the carton through which goods such as baby pants can depend. The carton has a cross section that converges or tapers toward the slot and also has retaining panels reversely folded up into the carton to oppose the removal of goods out through the slot. Thus, a major portion of the goods, e.g., baby pants are presented for actual handling and inspection by a customer in a package featuring attractive looks and yet which is inexpensively made and erected.

It is an object of this invention to provide a display package and carton therefor which permits access to the goods packaged.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a display carton from a one-piece blank of foldable material.

Still a further object is the provision of a blank for the carton.

3,462,006 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 It is yet another object of this invention to provide a display carton capable of making a display package when filled with goods and which is particularly suited to the packaging and display of soft resilient goods whereby the customer can manually feel and inspect the goods himself without having to remove same from a package. Other objects, advantages and features will become apparent from the following disclosure.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a blank for manufacturing a carton according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view partially broken away at its lower portion and showing the retaining panels in their operative condition.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the carton and more particularly showing the locking means.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of cartons comprising the present invention as they would be displayed for consumer use and more particularly showing the display advantages of the outmost carton.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the rear portion.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a blank having a generally T-shaped configuration from which a carton can be formed according to the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a vertically arranged series of panels comprising a retaining panel 1, a front panel 2, a top panel 3, a back panel 4 and a second retaining panel 5. Each of the aforesaid panels are of a generally rectangular configuration and are hingedly connected one to another along the score lines 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively between the retaining and front panels; (7) between the front and top panels; and (8 and 9) on opposite sides of the back panel.

Extending from the sides of the front panel are first and second side panels 10 and 11. Each of these side panels as illustrated has a generally isoscelestrapezoidal shape that is narrower adjacent the intended bottom 10A, 11A of the package (panel) than it is at the top 10B, 11B. The side panels are hingedly connected along score lines 14 and 15 to the front panel. Opposite sides of the side panels have the interengageable locking panels 16, 17 hingedly connected thereto along score lines 18 and 19. On the free outermost edge of each of the locking panels 16, 17, respectively is a hook 20, 21 with an adjacent slot 22, 23 whereby the two, when the panel is erected, may be engaged as in FIGS. 4 and 6 and locked one to another to form the complete package. Other locking means, such as a hook on panel 16 and a slot with which it could fit on panel 17, are also included in the invention.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 4 the top panel 3 is desirably longer by the amount 25 on each end than the adjoining front or back panels, thus to form a roof under which the'side panels fit when the carton is erected.

As-best seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the top panel 3 has a hanger tab 26 cut therein whereby the tab can be folded about score line 8 to a position suitable for hanging on a display rack. The tab, as illustrated, has a hole 27 cut therein to receive a hook or the like from which the package can be suspended.

The retaining panels 1 and 5 preferably have scalloped or sawtooth edges 31, 32 on their free edges whereby the same may better oppose the withdrawal from the erected package of goods 33 that may extend through the slot 40 defined in the bottom of the package (FIG. 2) by hinge lines 6, 9 and side panel bottom edges 10A, 11A.

When the FIG. 1 blank is formed into a carton and a package made as in FIGS. 2 and 5 the top panel 3 is folded to a horizontal position, the back panel 4 is folded down to a position opposing the front panel, and the two retaining panels 1, 5 are reversely folded up into the confines of the carton thereby to oppose the attempted removal of goods 33 (e.g., baby pants FIG. 2 or socks FIG. 5) from within the carton. Preferably a plurality of such goods are packaged together such as three baby pants or three pairs of socks. The scalloped edges 31, 32 of the retaining panels can engage and oppose removal from the package through slot 40 of the goods 33.

The trapezoidal or tapering shape of the side panels 10, 11 provides a cross section that converges towards the slot 40 at the bottom of the carton. This causes a densification of the material as well as enhancing the engaging of the soft material 33 or goods by the retaining panels in the event attempt is made to withdraw goods 33 from the carton.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 the locking panels 16, 17 go around the outside of the back panel 4 and secure the entire carton into an erected assembly. The hooks 20, 21 engage each other so that the hooks are inside the locking panels, thus providing a smooth exterior. In this fashion no staples or the like are required, thus eliminating the danger of metallic or hard substances being present in the package which might damage the goods, as by snagging or puncturing the goods. The locking panels and their associated hooks and slots 20 23 thus act as'a means for securing the carton in erected condition. The locking panels 16, 17 may be glued together to provide a tamper-proof feature: the hooks and slots or such other interengaging means may be used as a recloseable feature in the event of gluing. If securing by glue alone (without hooks as 20, 21) is desired then rectangular panels only need be used but they must either overlap each other to allow gluing or they must be glued to the back panel.

Having now described the invention and what manner the same may be made and used, what is claimed is:

1. A display carton having a slot along the bottom and made from a one-piece blank, said carton comprising a top panel;

a front panel hinged from and depending downwardlyfrom one side of said top panel;

a back panel hinged from and depending downwardly from the other side of said top panel;

a first reversely folded retaining panel of a height less than said front panel hinged from the front panel and reversely folded inwardly of said-carton;

a second reversely folded retaining panel of a height less than said back panel hinged from the back panel and reversely folded inwardly of said carton; and

an isosceles trapezoidal side panel hinged to each end of said front panel along one of the isosceles sides and with the narrower base of the trapezoid lowermost;

whereby a slot is defined on the bottom by the hinge lines of the first and second retaining panels and the narrower bases of the side panels.

2. A blank for the carton of claim 1.

3. A carton according to claim 1 having means for securing said side panels in place.

4. A carton according to claim 3 wherein said means is an interengagea'ble locking flap hinged along the other isosceles side of each of said side panels and extending when the carton is erected to a position engageable with the other said locking flap.

5. A hanging type carton according to claim 1 having a hanger tab cutout of at least one of said top panel, front panel, and back panel.

6. A carton according to claim 1 wherein the top panel is longer than the front or back panels thereby to overhang the side panels.

7. A display carton made from a one-piece blank of foldable material, having a slot along the bottom of the carton whereby goods can depend from the carton through the slot, comprising a front panel of generally rectangular shape;

a tapering side panel hinged to each end of said front panel, said side panel tapering from a wide top to a narrow bottom adjacent said slot;

a locking panel hingedly connected to that side of each side panel that is opposite said front panel hinge;

each locking panel extending when the carton is erected to a position engageable with the other said locking panel; and

a retaining panel reversely folded about a hinge line along the front panel bottom to within said slot.

8. A display carton made from a one piece blank of foldable material, having a slot along the bottom of the carton whereby goods can depend from the carton through the slot, at least one retaining means supported along one side of said slot and extending up into said carton, and a cross section that converges toward the slot whereby removal of goods out through the slot is opposed by interaction of the convergent cross section and the retaining means.

9. A blank for the carton of claim 8.

10. A package comprising the carton of claim 8 and soft resilient goods wihin said carton and depending through said slot from within said carton.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner 

